Buying Your Way Out of Jury Duty? Not in This Missouri Town

Who knew that from March 2006 through Dec. 2008, you could buy your way out of jury duty in Lincoln County, Mo?

It’s true. Once upon a time, people in Lincoln County — about 55 miles northwest of St. Louis — could get out of jury duty by paying $50 and agreeing to do six hours of community service.

Even though the policy was halted over two years ago, the legacy of the policy is still being shaped. Late last week, a state appeals court ruled that a defendant in a drug case will get a new trial, and that a child molestation case might be affected. Click here for the story, from the Hannibal Courier-Post.

In June 2007, Donald Preston was convicted on drug-related charges and later sentenced to 15 years in prison. The Missouri Court of Appeals affirmed the verdict, but in early 2009, Preston filed a challenge to Lincoln County’s jury selection process. He claimed that it “improperly restricted those persons eligible” from jury duty.

In a written opinion, Presiding Judge Kurt Odenwald said that “though the community service opt-out . . . does not directly impinge on the concept of random juror selection” as in other cases cited by the court, it “implicates two other principles fundamental to the declared policy” of the jury process.

Odenwald cited the two principles: qualified jurors have an obligation to serve unless excused, and that excusal usually is a matter of judicial discretion.

“Permitting an otherwise qualified Missouri citizen to thwart these two principles by intentionally and unilaterally choosing to remove their name from a county’s qualified jury list and forgo any potential jury obligations constitutes a statutory violation, one that is fundamental and systematic in nature,” Odenwald wrote.

The court ordered a new trial for Preston.

LBers, what do you think? On first blush, the notion of buying your way out of jury duty strikes us as abhorrent. But we’d imagine that the law’s other requirement — performing six hours of community service — might help keep the lid on everyone taking the $50 option. After all, according to the story, only seven of the 419 eligible jurors bit at the offer.

So why not allow this? Provided a jury pool doesn’t get too watered down, might it be a win-win for a state our county? Pick up some extra revenue, get some free hours of community service?

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The Law Blog covers the legal arena’s hot cases, emerging trends and big personalities. It’s brought to you by lead writer Jacob Gershman with contributions from across The Wall Street Journal’s staff. Jacob comes here after more than half a decade covering the bare-knuckle politics of New York State. His inside-the-room reporting left him steeped in legal and regulatory issues that continue to grab headlines.

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